Kickstarter Picks for the Week of June 09, 2014

What is this post all about? Well, it should pretty straightforward, but, if there's any confusion, this is where I'll be talking about a handful of Kickstarter projects each week, focusing on a few projects that recently launched and a few projects that are about to end. Will I be focusing only on projects in need of funding? No. I will simply be focusing on projects that interest me, regardless of whether they've only raised $5 or raised ten times that of their original goal. Anyway, I think it's about time I got to the actual projects, eh.

(There haven't been many games that have grabbed my attention in the past week or so, in large part because I don't have much experience with miniature gaming and can't say anything other than, "Oh, those look nice...")

• Recently Launched

RPG dice for the visually impaired

• Ends Sun, Jul 6 2014 1:04 PM CDT.

"RPG dice for the visually impaired" speaks for itself and I don't see how anyone could be against something that solely exists to make gaming--specifically tabletop-RPGs--more accessible. Do I have any use for them? No (and you probably don't either), but that doesn't mean I can't love and support something that will help others be more independent when gaming. Also, you may find yourself gaming with someone who's visually impaired in the future and, if that day comes, you'll be happy to have something like "RPG dice for the visually impaired."

Athlas - Duel for Divinity

• Ends Thu, Jul 24 2014 4:36 AM CDT.

Athlas looks like it has the potential to be a fun 1v1 game with a decent amount of variation to keep the game fresh, while still being light enough for casual gamers to play and understand. Now, having not played the game, I can't comment on its quality--which is the case for many Kickstarter games--but I like what I've seen and hope the game turns out well; why would anyone ever not want a game to turn out well?

• Ending Soon

Heat

• Ends Mon, Jun 9 2014 10:59 PM CDT.

So, Heat is a card game about stealing things and doesn't have anything to do with the De Niro/Pacino movie from 1995, or Miami's NBA team; though, while there may not be a crazy shootout in the middle of the street or a handful of championships, Heat is still worth checking out. Anyway, back to the actual card game, the reason why Heat sticks out to me is because a key part of Heat is drafting cards and I love the drafting mechanic, so, I'm pretty excited for Heat and, if you want to give the game a go, a print-and-play version is available right now.

AlakaSLAM: A Sorcery Tennis Microgame

• Ends Sun, Jun 15 2014 10:59 PM CDT.

I love tennis; it's one of my favorite sports to both watch and play, so, when I saw AlakaSLAM: A Sorcery Tennis Microgame pop up on Kickstarter, I couldn't click on it fast enough. Now, I haven't played AlakaSLAM and can't comment on its quality, but I like the idea of a simple card game for 2 or 4 players--think singles or doubles tennis matches--themed around tennis mixed with magic and, hopefully, AlakaSLAM is as good as a real tennis match--that would be pretty lovely (there's a tennis joke in there).

Empire: The Game of New York

• Ends Sat, Jun 14 2014 2:57 PM CDT.

Sure, Risk is not the greatest game, but I don't have the same hate for it as others do and the basic gameplay of Risk makes it a great, lengthy game for someone who doesn't want to be bogged down with pages and pages of rules. Why all the talk about Risk? Well, Empire: The Game of New York is basically Risk set in New York and I think Empire might appeal to more casual gamers, or those looking for a very colorful version of Risk--the colorful nature of Empire is what I like most of all. Anyway, if you're not someone who turns up their nose at the very mention of Risk, I'd recommend checking out Empire: The Game of New York.

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Anyway, that's it and that's all for this week's edition of Kickstarter picks. If you have any thoughts about the projects mentioned or want to highlight a project not mentioned above, leave a comment below--I'm always interested in seeing what other's think about various projects and what projects interest others.